Damn Hunter Life 94

Damn Hunter Life Chapter 94

Meanwhile, Myo Cho-hui, who had been freed from her boss-searching role, raised her large glaive high while on her rabbit.

However, from atop her familiar, the tip of her glaive couldn’t reach the pile of bugs below.

Moreover, unlike me or Sa Ye-ho, she didn’t use consumable weapons, so she couldn’t throw her spear either. Even if she threw her spear to stab the bugs with a thunk!, there would be no way to retrieve her weapon again.

Myo Cho-hui, gauging the distance, tried to grow vines to pierce through or strangle the bugs. However, the snake-like bugs were small and flexible, easily slipping through the vines with swift movements.

“…!”

At that moment, I saw green energy blooming in dots from Myo Cho-hui’s petite body in a way I’d never seen before.

Just like dozens of tiny Tinker Bells.

An attack skill that Myo Cho-hui possessed.

Sprouts wildly sprouted from the bodies of the bugs that had been unable to cling to the familiar and were running wild.

Hissss! The bugs writhed in agony before falling down with thuds. In an instant, corpses piled up below.

This happened with just one glance from Myo Cho-hui.

Rebuilder of Barren Land. Originally, it was just an ordinary skill that dealt small damage over a wide area and to about one large monster…

But it worked devastatingly well against the monsters before our eyes, enough to be called their natural enemy. Woo Sae-geon’s intentions hit the mark perfectly.

While Sa Ye-ho stepped back to find the boss’s location, and Woo Sae-geon painstakingly carved out bugs one by one with delicate sword strikes that consumed quite a bit of stamina—

The boar familiar staying in the center stood still and acted like a turret. Blue light would appear and light beams would fly to allies, or arrows would shoot out.

Ja Hyeong-woo reduced the damage the familiars took with heals while occasionally using debuff skills. Hae Mi-jun looked after my health while supporting his teammates’ attacks with stamina recovery skills. He also removed the poison scattered by the four-headed bugs.

‘I want to attach bombs to arrows and shoot them.’

Even if I shot and killed one bug, there were still hundreds more swarming together. Getting competitive, I applied a skill to my arrow.

[<Grave of the Dead (Earth Attribute)> skill is activated.]

Thunk thunk thunk! The arrow pierced through several bug bodies at once and toppled the bug tower.

Now this felt worth shooting.

‘If my body’s too weak to shoot hard, my head has to work harder. Such is my fate.’

At that moment, a chat appeared on my status window. Now quite familiar with it, I checked the chat without stopping my shooting.

Mouse Successor > Me: You conserve your strength.

Mouse Successor > Me: You said you’d try fusion skills.

I made all sorts of expressions. To the people watching the stage, I kept my face fixed toward the bugs as if it was because the bugs were disgusting.

Me > Mouse Successor: I know too, you rat bastard

Actually, Ja Hyeong-woo was right behind me. Since we were both riding the boar familiar.

I suppose I should be grateful that the boar’s back was wide enough that we weren’t stuck together.

Mouse Successor > Me: And you, don’t stick to Hae Mi-jun. You’re interfering with Mi-jun’s skill usage.

Me > Mouse Successor: You sure give a lot of advice

This might be my karma too… This is why Ja Hyeong-woo should have chosen his friends more carefully.

‘When is he going to stop thinking of me as a friend?’

The bugs that seemed like they would swarm endlessly finally began to decrease gradually. Fortunately, if you could call it that, no boss had appeared until then.

Rabbit Successor: How long did it take to get here?

3 hours and 38 minutes.

Everyone seemed unaware because time had flown by while killing mobs, but I was acutely aware of it. My arms were shaking and my eyes were closing from shooting arrows for 3 whole hours.

The time spent killing small fry had gotten too long. Since the stage grade was A, it was living up to its reputation. We were being thoroughly pushed around by an A-grade stage.

However, Woo Sae-geon proceeded with the next step without wavering.

“Sa Ye-ho, the boss.”

“Found it~.”

While luring out the boss buried underground, he didn’t forget to lecture.

Ox Successor: Gyeon Gang-hyeon, straighten your back properly. Don’t lean on Hae Mi-jun.

Me: I’m originally like a sunfish so it doesn’t matter, right?

Ox Successor: Your attitude is lacking.

The ground rumbled loudly. That four-headed bug from earlier crawled out, now the size of a house.

‘Ugh…’

The dozens of bug legs crawling with rapid movements were too, vividly visible.

If Woo Sae-geon hadn’t broken the silence by cutting off one leg with his sword in a single strike, I would have kept spacing out like that.

However, as expected… this boss wasn’t easy to inflict damage on.

An A-grade boss.

The snake-like body wasn’t easily cut or pierced. The legs regrew as fast as they were cut off. The successors struggled like never before.

‘At least it’s fortunate that it’s not much of a threat as long as we don’t make contact.’

“The boss’s skin is fucking tough, damn.”

Sa Ye-ho lost his composure and exploded in frustration. He had thrown dozens of hidden weapons but they all bounced off. The arrow I aimed precisely at its eyes was dodged by that damn boss.

Even Woo Sae-geon couldn’t rashly close the distance. Riding his ox familiar, he circled around while searching for the enemy’s openings with raptor-like eyes.

The time of being unable to do anything dragged on. We needed to stand proudly before the people, but at this rate, we’d be shameless.

The successors’ prestige would be damaged, and… it would make people anxious.

It was clear that anxiety would be caused among citizens while news of successful conquest was delayed and silence lengthened. Communities would also buzz with fear and anxiety.

We must remember. Stages aren’t some special successor event.

This is a war staking the survival and pride of Korean hunters.

Woo Sae-geon made his decision.

Ox Successor: I’ll have to use an advanced skill.

Ox Successor: You guys stay put and don’t waste skills.

I had been waiting for just this moment. I typed at super speed.

Me: Leader, what about my fusion experiment?

Ox Successor: Handle it yourself

As soon as permission was granted, I immediately got down from the boar familiar. Since the height was high, I hesitated for a moment, then Hae Mi-jun quickly got down first and offered me his hand.

Sa Ye-ho also left the boss to Woo Sae-geon and Myo Cho-hui and came to me for now. Since Ja Hyeong-woo remained on the boar, he would take care of healing those two.

I remembered discussing actions in advance with Sa Ye-ho.

‘How do we naturally hold hands? Should I pretend to be in danger? You grab me and pull me away pretending…’

‘We can just hold hands normally. I’ll grab you while pretending to chat. Since we’re close, people will think it’s something like that.’

But when it came time to actually do it, I hesitated quite a bit.

I was glancing at Sa Ye-ho approaching when I suddenly made an “ugh!” sound and crouched down on the ground.

‘If I suddenly act sick and crouch down, it’s natural for Sa Ye-ho to help me up, right? I’m always getting sick anyway.’

And I really was in pain. Honestly, this wasn’t expected.

Me > Snake Successor: It’s hot

Snake Successor > Me: Endure it

Sa Ye-ho’s energy rushed in rapidly from the point of contact. It felt like a hot lump was moving around inside my body.

“Hngh, uh…”

I couldn’t help but let out a small moan.

Sa Ye-ho pretended to pat my back with his other hand while pushing the heat all the way in thoroughly.

People would say ‘Gang-tto-a (Gang-hyeon sick again).’ Like what I heard on the talk show… I’m glad I don’t look at communities.

I could feel Hae Mi-jun watching anxiously from the side. I steeled my heart once more and activated the ‘Grave of the Dead’ skill, then rolled the energy inside my body to process it into a new form.

I bit my lips so hard they bled, but it was almost done.

Now I just needed to stick this into the boss.

‘If the fusion skill turns out to be pathetic after trying it, I’ll really just shoot arrows until I cough up blood from next time… Then Woo Sae-geon might at least pity me…’

The moment I released the skill that had been circling and trapped inside my body to the outside—

Suddenly my vision turned yellow and bright red.

Fire demons were surging from my body!

“Aaaaah!”

Both I, who was engulfed in flames, and Sa Ye-ho, who witnessed me directly, screamed.

At that moment, the flames suddenly cleared. Something slipped out of me and rose into the sky.

I frantically felt around my body. Fortunately, not only was there no burn, but not even a single piece of clothing was singed.

‘Then that is…?’

A bird… as large as the boss.

Each time it flapped its wings, scorching heat like being in front of a fire rushed over us. The flames were so intense that sweat beaded on my forehead in no time.

‘A phoenix…?’

All its feathers were red and brilliant. Looking at that color, I felt like there might be a more appropriate name. I stared blankly before realizing.

‘There are the twelve zodiac in the five elements, but above them are also the four guardian deities.’

Among the four guardian deities, the position is south. In terms of the five elements, fire attribute.

Vermillion Bird. In other words, Suzaku.

Kiiiii—! The Vermillion Bird opened its beak and cried out. Sound waves echoed throughout the area and flames spewed forth.

The large four-headed bug’s body instantly caught fire.

This was the hard exterior that Sa Ye-ho couldn’t pierce even when he threw hidden weapons desperately earlier. Both Sa Ye-ho and Hae Mi-jun looked up stupidly like people whose souls had been stolen.

The Vermillion Bird deity didn’t particularly listen to my commands, but as if driving evil things to death was its very reason for existence, it drove the four-headed bug to its demise.

The burning smell stung my nose. Pillars of fire rose from the four-headed bug’s entire body. The heat was so intense that even Woo Sae-geon retreated far back.

“Ye-ho, your skill is amazing…”

I tried to pass it off belatedly, but it was too obvious that it was a skill that came from me, Gyeon Gang-hyeon.

I also know that I’ve crossed a river of no return.

Snake Successor > Me: Hey, you’re the one who caused trouble

Snake Successor > Me: I don’t know anything

Sa Ye-ho swiftly cut ties with me.

The fortunate thing was that Woo Sae-geon hadn’t used his advanced skill yet. If Woo Sae-geon’s skill had come out first just before this unprecedented emergency situation, one side would have been wasted, but that guy even has good luck.

As my head went blank, only silly thoughts kept coming to mind. Before my stunned eyes, a status window popped up.

<Southern Guardian Deity Suzaku>

Origin: Fire that protects the husband fuses with earth that builds from the center, manifesting a mythological deity.

A skill with no attribute designation at all.

It was registered as my skill entirely, making it possible to use again if conditions were met. The problem was that the number of uses was excessively limited…

‘But that means I can summon other guardian deities too. And I haven’t used the remaining guardian deities yet.’

Suddenly my body was spun around by someone.

Ja Hyeong-woo grabbed my shoulders, his face pale.

“What?”

“Are you okay?”

Do I look like I’m about to cough up blood right now?

However, by my standards, I was fine. As long as I’m not immediately losing consciousness, I should consider myself okay.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds… I counted numbers in my head. The time until Ja Hyeong-woo would soon withdraw his hands first and turn away with a sullen look.

But even after much longer than that had passed, Ja Hyeong-woo’s gaze didn’t leave me.

“Thank goodness.”

He whispered quietly.

…More than the heat the skill gave off, Ja Hyeong-woo’s palm touching my shoulder was hotter.